The Red Drifter of the Sea (Pirates of the Isles #3) - Celeste Barclay Page 0,30

guilt was only a sliver of why Moira wanted the spanking. He watched her swallow as she worked through what she wanted to say before she started.

“I—I like the feel of the sting and burn, and I like to know it’s you touching me,” Moira began. “But that’s not all of it. When you’re spanking me, you’re in control. I don’t have to fear what will happen next because I know. I don’t have to try to be in control because I know you are. I don’t have to think about duty or responsibility, or fear or uncertainty, when you’re spanking me. I don’t know why I feel like that. Surely anyone—even you—hearing me must think I’m a fool.”

“And if I said I want you to surrender that control and submit to me, so I can ease that burden? What if I told you that I understand why you enjoy the punishment, why you feel unsettled and unresolved right now?”

“I’d say I think you’re the only one who could possibly understand.”

“Come here, Moira,” Kyle said as he leaned back, allowing Moira to lie across his thighs. Pushing the leine up to the middle of her back, his hand kneaded her supple globes before he landed two light spanks on each side. “I will administer ten slaps, and you will count them. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Capt’n,” Moira’s muffled voice carried to him. Kyle brought his hand down over and over, Moira counting in between. She squirmed as her body reacted to the stinging pain, feeling her body slipping toward pleasure.

“You will not climax from rubbing your quim against my thigh, sweet one, or I will deny you again,” Kyle warned.

“Yes, Capt’n,” Moira mumbled. When the spanking was through, Kyle righted Moira and eased her onto the bed. She brushed the hair from her face, and Kyle witnessed the anxiety disappear from Moira’s visage. He cocked an eyebrow, and Moira offered him a half-smile. “I feel better now, Kyle.”

Ten

Moira remained below deck for the next three days, impatient for fresh air and a change of scenery. But Kyle refused to allow her to leave the cabin, nor did he return her clothes. He warned her that the deck was in no condition for her to go traipsing around. Frustrated by his orders, which seemed more like an overreaction, Moira sulked in the cabin. When Kyle checked on her throughout the day and brought her meals, she alternated between shooting him glares and sullen pouts. She earned herself several trips over Kyle’s knees, but that was the only time she felt cared for. Left alone with little to do but sleep, eat, look out at the water, and read books that didn’t interest her, Moira wanted to climb the walls.

She grew withdrawn, answering Kyle’s questions with the barest minimum of words. She knew she was testing his patience when he was already preoccupied with repairs to the Lady Charity, but she resented being locked away when it was never her wish to come aboard in the first place. He continued his attempts to coerce information from Moira, but she only stared mutinously at him, earning those spankings each time. She had moments of contrition after each spanking when she noticed the haggard expression Kyle wore. She was remorseful and eager to make amends after each run-in, and Kyle forgave her each time, easing her need just as she did his. His adept fingers and tongue pushed her toward ecstasy over and over. But it wasn’t enough to keep her from repeating her sins when she was left alone for long stretches.

Kyle accused her of tormenting him as her revenge because she disagreed with him about remaining in the cabin. She disagreed only with his order. She knew she was being petulant, but it felt like the most surefire way to garner Kyle’s attention for the ten or fifteen minutes at a time that he spent with her. She understood the work and strain he was under, but she wished each visit didn’t start with him asking questions she was unwilling to answer. The only time they were at peace with one another was at night, when Kyle finally retired for a few hours of rest. They lay together in silence, Kyle’s larger frame wrapped around her back, his heavy arm holding her in place. There was nowhere she would have rather been.

It came to a head on the third day when Kyle brought Moira the midday meal. She refused to look up from